


6.59am

by critiass (cranberieee)



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Fluffy Ending, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-21
Updated: 2013-08-21
Packaged: 2017-12-24 05:28:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/935931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cranberieee/pseuds/critiass
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The war clock showed nothing but zeroes.</p>
<p>The zeroes stared at Raleigh Becket right in the face- reminding him of what he’s done: the whole saving the world shebang.</p>
<p>It also reminded him of what he’s lost.</p>
            </blockquote>





	6.59am

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Haven’t written in what feels like ages, going to start again because this fandom and this ship. Sadjkasd
> 
> The [*insert numbers here*] is military time~
> 
> Inspired by this gem of a poem with the same title by Shane Koyczan

[0530]

The war clock showed nothing but zeroes.

The zeroes stared at Raleigh Becket right in the face- reminding him of what he’s done: the whole saving the world shebang.

It also reminded him of what he’s lost.

Correction, what they’ve lost.

Raleigh looked at Mako, standing with all poise despite the fact that her eyes were still a bit puffy and red from the late night crying she does when she thinks no one hears her. He had half a mind to barge into her room and just give her a comforting hug but he figured that if Mako needed a friend, she’d come and talk about it when she’s ready.

It’s been two weeks since Operation Pitfall and after the initial celebration, the mourning for those who gave their lives for the plan finally sunk in.

Right now though, they were too busy with new plans for the Shatterdomes all over the world. The words, “conversion into a research facility”, were floating around and it made sense. They did have to find out how the Breach was possible in the first place and make sure that it did not happen again.

The pair of them ran all over the Hong Kong Shatterdome, Mako ordering the crews to catalogue everything leftover from the jaegers while Raleigh kept by her side as some sort of emotional crutch. To be honest though, they were both each other’s emotional crutches. 

The drift kind of does that to you. It turns two individuals into complementary parts that aren’t quite special unless they’re together. It was like just the two of them being close to each other made the weight on their shoulders more bearable.

[0654]

Tendo and Mako talked in the LOCCENT, which overlooked the jaeger bay. Raleigh wasn’t particularly interested in what the two were talking about as it centered on the jaeger technology and possibly other uses for it as well as the neural bridge frameworks. He bets a lot of big companies were willing to pay a lot to get their hands on those advancements. Not that the PPDC was short on money now that they saved the world and were getting wired with credits by almost every nation.

His blue eyes scanned the sight below: techs and such scrambling with boxes, steel things, electric wires, tanks of compressed gas, and more. Raleigh then spotted a wrinkly heap of bulldog near the hangar where Striker Eureka used to stand. He had to sigh at the sight and was glad that no one’s attention was on him; he bet he made a face as if he was going to cry.

He wasn’t though. He swears. 

Raleigh excused himself from Tendo and Mako. He made his way down and pets Max who just leans into the touch. The two of them stay there for a while, looking at the space once filled with a Mark V jaeger piloted by a couple of hardcore Aussies. 

[1343]

Raleigh gave Herc a big pat on the back when his helicopter landed. The old man returned it with a weary smile. Max had stayed with Raleigh in the duration of Herc’s absence. The marshal bent down and gave the dog’s ear some scrunching.

“Left him with one of Striker’s techs but he seems to like you better.” 

Herc stood straight and Raleigh at that moment wanted nothing but to tell him that his son was a hero and that he’s one heck of a golden boy who’ll live in legend along with Pentecost.

But he couldn’t. He felt as if he consoled anyone about Chuck being dead then the mouthy asshole would never make that unexpected but somewhat anticipated comeback. He just handed Herc Max’s leash and the marshal took it with a slight bow.

Raleigh watched as the worn out figure of Hercules Hansen walked with Max in tow. For a minute, the light hit his eyes and he saw Chuck walking away from him. Raleigh nearly had a panic attack.

[1600]

Raleigh hung around the lab after an eventful day. Him and Mako had done more than most people before 7:00am. He just wanted to lay back and relax but every time he tried to sleep, the nightmares keep coming. 

“So, I was thinking about what else we could do with all these kaiju parts- I mean not every single one of them should be put in a museum,” Newt tapped at the glass tank that kept a secondary kaiju heart- or was it brain? Raleigh didn’t really want to know.   
“I don’t know, maybe we could start reverse engineering these babies! What do you think?” Newt turned to see Raleigh looking absolutely dismayed as he sat on the desk that had Gottlieb’s math equations. Newt didn’t know whether to be horrified or relieved that said mathematician wasn’t present, as he had to attend to matters at his home. 

“Rals, I don’t think you should sit t-there,” a slight stutter escaped Newt’s lips and Raleigh suddenly looked like he snapped out of a trance as he stared at him. 

Raleigh ran a hand through his hair, messing up the already disheveled blond nest upon his head. Newt just sighed and gave him a pat. 

“Hey.”

He looked at Newt who had draped an arm on his shoulder.

“At least you popped his Australian cherry before he joined the celestial world or whatever you call it.”

Raleigh had to laugh at that and he hadn’t laughed an honest laugh in a while. He remembered Chuck that night- this mess of incoherent demands and flushed cheeks. He smiled fondly at the memory.

And at the memory of waking up spooning Chuck’s side while muttering pet names to his ear. It riled him up more than the teasing the night before.

“Yeah, yeah.” Raleigh wiped at the tear at the corner of his eye. It came from that sudden burst of laughter. 

He spent the rest of the night, talking about the randomest of things with Newt to pass the time. After all, time’s all that Raleigh has now.

[0021]

He made that familiar turn to the hallway where Chuck Hansen’s room. Raleigh stopped in front of the huge metallic door and wondered if he should knock but then he just shrugged and realised that was ridiculous.

As if knocking on someone’s door would miraculously bring the dead back to life just so that they could answer it.

Raleigh opened it with ease, knowing Chuck’s code like the back of hand. He was greeted by the younger pilot’s scent. It was still there, like everything else in the room. It was in military precision clean. Raleigh always teased Chuck about being a bit on the OCD side, which usually ended in him slamming head first onto the floor. 

He didn’t enter just yet. Raleigh wanted to take in the room wherein he spent most of his downtime in. Where he caught most of his sleep in when him and Chuck weren’t in a tangle of limbs and kisses atop the bed or any seemingly flat surface. 

He let himself fall on Chuck’s bed. Sheets still smelling like him. The scent lulls Raleigh to sleep and chases the nightmares away.

[0639]

Max woke him up. The bulldog breath definitely did the trick if it wasn’t the insistent pawing on his arm. Raleigh swatted away Max for assaulting him in his sleep- as soon as he got sat up, he saw Mako holding Max and looking at him from the hallway. She had a smile plastered on her face that made a somewhat forgotten emotion stir within him.

[0659]

When Chuck woke up, he turned to see Raleigh clutching his hand like a lifeline as he slept. Raleigh’s head and most of his upper body on the side of the bed while the rest of him was on one of those uncomfortable standard issue medical bay chairs. 

Chuck had to smirk a bit as he leaned in to trace the outline of Raleigh’s lips with his.


End file.
